Siobhan Cattigan: Scottish rugby player dies aged 26

Scottish Rugby player Siobhan Cattigan has died aged 26, the sport's governing body and her club have announced.

Cattigan, who played for Stirling County RFC, passed away on 26 November, the club said.

Stirling County described her as an "inspiration" while Scottish Rugby, the sport's governing body, said she was a "talented back-row forward and all-round rugby player".

The 26-year-old won 19 caps for Scotland between 2018 and 2021 and made her international debut against Wales during the 2018 Six Nations.

In a statement on Tuesday, Stirling County said: "It's with a heavy heart we pass on the news of the tragic passing of Siobhan (Shibby) on Friday 26th November.

"Shibby has been a big part of County for many years and will be hugely missed by everyone at the club.

"She was central to the development of women's rugby within the club & an inspiration to the girls in the youth section."

The club said she was a team-mate and a friend, adding: "we deeply mourn her loss".

"Our love, thoughts & heartfelt condolences are with Shibby's family at this devastating time. We very much hope their privacy will be respected by everyone as they deal with their tragic loss," it added.

Scottish Rugby also released a statement saying it is "deeply saddened" to hear of her death before paying tribute to her career.

It said Cattigan's passion for the sport began aged five when she joined McLaren Minis based in her hometown of Callander.

She described Scotland's historic win against Ireland in 2018 as one of her personal highlights as the team claimed an away victory for the first time in 12 years, Scottish Rugby added.

"A talented back-row forward and all-round rugby player, Siobhan started all three matches of the 2021 Women's Six Nations tournament, playing at number 8 against England, Italy and Wales," it said.

"Siobhan was most recently involved in the Rugby World Cup 2021 Europe Qualifiers squad, where she came off the bench in Scotland's first win of the tournament against Spain."

Scottish Rugby also said she studied criminology and sociology before receiving a master's degree in sports psychology at the University of Stirling, where she captained her side to victory in the 2016/17 British and University College Sports league.

"The thoughts of all our people and players go out to Siobhan's family and many teammates at Stirling County and Scotland at this incredibly difficult time," Scottish Rugby added.

"Specialist Scottish Rugby employees are now providing on-going support to those most closely affected."